2024-01-23T14:41:06+00:00
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/ Five Arab countries are working on a plan that would end the war in Gaza and pave the way for the implementation of the two-state solution, which Israel rejects, according to what the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Arab officials.
This proposal, which was presented to Israel via the United States, is the first joint plan by Arab countries to end the war in the besieged Strip.
In return, Saudi Arabia, one of the Arab countries that proposed the proposal, offered to establish relations with Israel in exchange for the establishment of a Palestinian state, a process that was derailed according to the newspaper due to the attack led by Hamas on October 7.
The proposal is still being finalized, according to Saudi and Egyptian officials, but has so far been rejected by the Israeli government, which considers the creation of a Palestinian state the main “sticking point.”
Israeli officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The news comes amid a renewed flurry of diplomatic activity by US and European officials seeking to halt the fighting.
Egyptian officials said US President Joe Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, arrived in the region on Monday to discuss the war and the fate of the Israeli hostages, and met with Egyptian officials in Cairo before heading to Qatar.
In Brussels, the European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, led a group of foreign ministers who met with senior Arab officials, and separately with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
At the meeting with EU foreign ministers, people involved in the discussion said the two sides talked to each other.
EU foreign ministers pressed for Israel’s plans for Gaza after the conflict, and for its approach to a two-state solution.
Katz did not address these issues extensively, instead showing his counterparts two videos promoting potential projects to boost Gaza’s economy.
At a press conference late Monday, Borrell said the videos had “little to do with the issues we are discussing.”
He added that Katz would have been better off “using his time by focusing on the security of his country and the death toll in Gaza.”
Israel’s ambassador to the European Union, Haim Regev, noted that Katz had taken advantage of his first trip abroad since resuming his post to come to the EU, saying: “It was a very important engagement for us.”
The efforts of McGurk and officials from the European Union and Arabs come at a time when Israel is under increasing international and local pressure to develop a plan for who will rule Gaza after the war, and who will pay for its reconstruction.
Arab officials said the Arab plan was on a separate track from negotiations over the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he had rejected a proposal by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages, calling it a “surrender.”
Egyptian officials said several Israeli proposals for the release of the hostages, including a two-month cessation of fighting as part of a multi-stage deal that would include the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza, had already been rejected by Hamas.
The families of the Israelis still being held hostage are trying to increase pressure on the government to accept the deal.
The plan proposed by the five Arab countries also addresses what should happen in Gaza in the immediate aftermath of the war.
Arab states reject an Israeli request to assume direct responsibility for the reconstruction and security of the Strip when Hamas is “ousted,” arguing that it is Israel’s responsibility to do so.
Arab officials said Arab countries are proposing to train Palestinian security forces to help revive and reform the unpopular Palestinian Authority and eventually help organize elections.
Netanyahu said he would not allow the Palestinian Authority to play a role in post-war Gaza.
The United States has called for reform of the Palestinian Authority, and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, has shown no sign of being willing to relinquish power.
Saudi and Egyptian officials said Arab officials were still working on the plan and hoped to finalize it in the coming weeks.